THE BIG SICK

Running time: 120 minutes. Rated R (profanity). Now playing.

It’s the old “Boy meets girl, boy hides girl from his traditional Pakistani family, girl has to be put into medically induced coma because of a mysterious illness” story. Somehow, director Michael Showalter (“Hello, My Name Is Doris”) puts a fresh spin on it.

Actually, this strange tale is drawn directly from life: Comedian Kumail Nanjiani (“Silicon Valley”), starring as himself, co-wrote this big-hearted comedy with his now-wife Emily V. Gordon (played by Zoe Kazan in the film) about their courtship, which was derailed when she became gravely ill.

And there you have the toughest thing about “The Big Sick,” which is that it’s difficult to keep a romantic comedy afloat when your leading lady is unconscious. The film slows down a bit when the bubbly Kazan is sidelined, but Showalter has two aces in Holly Hunter and Ray Romano as Emily’s frazzled parents, who gradually warm to Kumail as he sticks around.

Nanjiani and Zoe KazanNicole Rivelli/Lionsgate via AP

Mainly, though, this is Nanjiani’s show. Bits of his smart, cross-culturally incisive stand-up are sprinkled throughout, in performances alongside his fellow comics (one of whom is Aidy Bryant of “SNL”). He also digs into the pain of being close to your parents (Anupam Kher and Zenobia Shroff) while growing alienated from their Old World views. We see him watching videos on his phone while he’s supposed to be praying, and smiling through gritted teeth at dinners with parentally selected dating prospects (one of whom, Vella Lovell of “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend,” gets a nice monologue on the frustrations of being a young woman shoehorned into the arranged-marriage shtick). An antidote to explosion-filled summer movie fare, “The Big Sick” makes a strong case for the healing powers of love, generosity and — just like Reader’s Digest always said — laughter.